Immunization

School districts are informing parents that their children are required to have a whooping cough vaccine in order to register for school this fall. What they fail to explain is that whooping cough is usually mild in older children and adults. They also neglect to describe the waivers for vaccine requirements. In many states including California and 19 others a philosophical exemption allows parents to simply state that vaccines are contrary to their personal beliefs. No other explanation or documentation is necessary to waive the vaccine requirement. In most other states a religious exemption is available, which is more or less equivalent to the philosophical exemption since courts have ruled that personal religious beliefs, such as the Native American belief in the natural order of the body and its relation to the world, are valid for vaccine exemption.

Do not allow yourself to be intimidated by the pronouncements of school boards. Know your rights to an informed choice about vaccines. The whooping cough vaccine is associated with significant side effects. The disease itself is relatively mild in these age groups. And whooping cough can be treated and resolved with holistic measures.

The vaccine industry has a great deal to gain financially from requiring large segments of the population to be vaccinated. Don’t allow yourself to be manipulated by their interests. Make an informed decision.